Justin Paton's Double-Double and Deonte Burton's 22 Help the Blue Cruise 127-104.
Story Courtesy of Thunder Public Relations:
The Oklahoma City Blue defeated the Stockton King, 127-104, on Saturday night.
Stockton grabbed an early advantage, going up 24-18 midway through the first frame, but Oklahoma City went up 62-60 at the break, and the Kings would not gain a lead in the second half. With a 92-84 edge after three quarters, the Blue started the fourth on a 16-2 run to go up 108-86 before the Kings responded with seven unanswered points of their own. The teams then exchanged buckets until the final two minutes of play when Oklahoma City ended the game on an 8-2 spurt to earn a 23-point victory.
“I was impressed with our effort sustained throughout the game,” Head Coach Grant Gibbs said. “We were down a few bodies, but I thought it didn’t hurt our energy or our execution. Stockton was in a similar position, and they played well and hard, so credit to them. But impressed with our effort and our ability to sustain through the obstacles.”
The Blue notched its best shooting night of the season and drained the most shots from beyond the arc this year, outshooting the Kings 55.7 percent to 46.1 percent and draining 18 threes to Stockton’s nine. Seven of Oklahoma City’s eight active players were in double figures.
On assignment from the Thunder, Deonte Burton went 9-of-15 from the field and 4-of-7 from three-point range to tally a team-high-tying 22 points, a game-best-tying seven assists, six rebounds, and three steals. Assignee Justin Patton nearly registered a double-double with his 17 points, nine rebounds, and game-leading five blocks.
DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell matched Burton’s 22 points on 10-of-16 shooting, adding eight boards. Vincent Edwards drained a game-leading five shots from long range to finish with 20 points, nine rebounds, and five dimes.
Kings two-way player DaQuan Jeffries posted 27 points and six rebounds, shooting 10-of-18 from the floor and 4-of-8 from beyond the arc.
Oklahoma City improved to 4-5 and will complete the back-to-back by hosting the Texas Legends Sunday at 7 p.m. inside Cox Convention Center.